Research award for published lecturer

31 Oct 2013

NMIT (Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE) Bachelor of Writing and Publishing lecturer and Victoria University student, Alice Robinson, was awarded the VU Vice Chancellor’s Peak Award for Excellence in Research last Friday.

Robinson, who is graduating as a Doctor of Philosophy (Creative Arts) from Victoria University, was awarded the prize for her academic research and accompanying novel Anchor Point.

Robinson’s research focussed on settler Australians' attitudes towards the land and how that affects our perception of climate change today. Her novel has been accepted for publication by Affirm Press.

Three Victoria University doctoral students were distinguished from their graduating class with a citation from the university. Whilst Robinson knew she was one of the three people to receive a citation, she was surprised when her name was announced as the recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s Peak Award.

“I was a bit surprised, but very honoured,” she said. “I thought that it would go to one of the two other students because of their focus on the sciences. The fact that it was given to a creative writing student is great recognition of the Arts’ importance to research.”

Candidates were assessed in three categories; their examiner’s report, publication and their engagement in research culture. Robinson’s contact with the publishing industry as a lecturer at NMIT helped her decide where she would submit her own work.

“I met the publishers at Affirm Press when they came to NMIT as guest lecturers in our Bachelor of Writing and Publishing. Their talk made me think that they were a good fit for my work, so I sent the manuscript off.”

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NMIT (Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE) – Situated on six campuses and six training centres throughout Melbourne’s north plus a regional campus at Ararat, NMIT delivers vocational training, higher education and lifelong learning capabilities for a global workforce. NMIT forges partnerships with community, industry and government to produce practical, solution orientated graduates capable of making meaningful contributions to their chosen field of endeavour.